Southwestern Illinois counties report increased vaccinations, falling positivity rates

COVID-19 vaccinations and ICU bed availability in southwest Illinois counties rose this week while positivity rates continued to plummet, with all below 5.6%.

Here is a breakdown of vaccine distribution and positivity rate data from Sept. 23-29 in Region 4.

Region 4 vaccinations

According to data released by the state health department Wednesday, 323,689 Region 4 residents have been fully vaccinated out of the estimated 660,225 who live in the region, or approximately 49.0%. That’s an increase of 3,093 people from the previous week.

Region 4 consists of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties.

The vaccination numbers for Region 4 remain fairly steady: 3,480 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 2-8; nearly 4,500 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 9-15; 3,883 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 16-22; and 3,496 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 23-29.

Madison and St. Clair counties continue to vaccinate the most individuals in Region 4, combining to fully vaccinate 2,439 people the past week, a decrease of 225 from Sept. 23-29.

Vaccine breakdown by county

Here is the latest vaccination data from Region 4:

• Bond County: 6,751 people have been fully vaccinated, or 40.60% of the population. That’s an increase of 71 people from one week ago.
• Clinton County: 18,375 people have been fully vaccinated, or 48.82% of the population. That’s an increase of 159 people from one week ago.
• Madison County: 133,041 people have been fully vaccinated, or 50.31% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,181 people from one week ago.
• Monroe County: 18,244 people have been fully vaccinated, or 53.14% of the population. That’s an increase of 112 people from one week ago.
• Randolph County: 13,972 people have been fully vaccinated, or 43.52% of the population. That’s an increase of 179 people from one week ago.
• St. Clair County: 126,402 people have been fully vaccinated, or 48.42% of the population. That’s an increase of 1,258 people from one week ago.
• Washington County: 6,904 people have been fully vaccinated, or 49.33% of the population. That’s an increase of 133 people from one week ago.

For state totals, according to Wednesday’s data, 7,089,829 Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated, or 55.65%. That’s an increase of 58,810 people from the previous week after the state reported 134,123 people became fully vaccinated from Sept. 23-29.

Region 4 positivity rates

The positivity rate for Region 4 as a whole and among its individual counties continues to show promising improvement.

Positivity rate is one key metric the Illinois Department of Public Health measures to determine whether to reinstate restrictions.

Below are some trends for Region 4 from Sept. 30-Oct. 5, according to data released by the state health department Wednesday.

• The positivity rate for Region 4 dropped from 4.6% last week to 4.2% this week.
• The Region 4 postivity rate has remained below 8% since Aug. 31 and below 5% since Sept. 22.
• No counties reported a double-digit positivity rate.
• All seven counties reported decreases from 30 days ago, as did Region 4 as a whole.
  
  
• All seven counties reported single-digit positivity rates.
• The highest positivity rate reported by any of the seven counties was 5.5%.

Here is a more detailed look at the seven-day rate fluctuations for Region 4 counties from one week ago and one month ago, according to the most recent data released by the state health department Wednesday:

• Region 4: 4.2% on Oct. 6; 4.6% on Sept. 26; and 6.6% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Bond County: 3.6% on Oct. 6; 3.9% on Sept. 26; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
  
  
• Clinton County: 3.5% on Oct. 6; 3.2% on Sept. 26; and 5.5% on Sept. 3.
• Madison County: 4.5% on Oct. 6; 5.3% on Sept. 26; and 6.9% on Sept. 3.
• Monroe County: 4.3% on Oct. 6; 5.9% on Sept. 26; and 8.1% on Sept. 3.
• Randolph County: 5.5% on Oct. 6; 6.4% on Sept. 26; and 6.0% on Sept. 3.
• St. Clair County: 3.9% on Oct. 6; 3.7% on Sept. 26; and 6.4% on Sept. 3.
• Washington County: 2.7% on Oct. 6; 4.0% on Sept. 26; and 10.9% on Sept. 3.

Region 4’s ICU bed availability also showed improvement, rising from 24% last week to 29% on Wednesday, according to state data. It was at 21% a month ago.